How To Track Your Lost Phone Using Google

It's quite easy using Google to track down your phone if it gets lost or stolen. Since about 2015, Google has offered phone location tracking as part of the Google account which helps in finding Android devices that you are signed into that are running Google mobile services.

Let's take a look at how it works.

Chrome:
The easiest method comes with Chrome's syncing with Google. If you use Chrome and are signed in to the same Google account on Chrome as you are on your smartphone, then it couldn't be simpler.

1. Open Chrome and ensure you're signed into Chrome using the same account as your mobile device.
2. Type "find my phone" into the search bar and hit search.
3. The results page will include a box at the top showing you where your phone is. You can use the drop-down box to select the specific device you're looking for, with the map showing the location.

READ ALSO: 3 Ways To Track Your Stolen Phone

4. You have options to ring that phone (so you can find it at home), or recover - where you can click through and find options to lock, erase, or remove the phone from your account.

In another browser:
If you don't use Chrome, you can still use your browser, but it's not quite as simple. 

1. In your browser head to google.com/android/find.
2. If you're not logged in, log in using the same account as your Android phone.
3. The next page opens in the Google account page to find your phone.
4. As above, you can then select the device you want to locate that's associated with your Google account, and ring, wipe or lock that device.

Managing your devices in your Google account
Android phones need a Google account to run, except for a few of them like the Huawei phones. Google will always be able to locate those devices, as well as manage them. That means you can view devices that are associated with your Google account within the account management area. This applies both to personal accounts and any G Suite accounts you might have for work.

You can access this through a browser or through an Android device itself. Just head to your Google account and then to Security where you'll find a list of devices you have signed in. Again, you can locate devices here, but more usefully, you can remotely wipe devices you can't access (perhaps because you broke the display), or remove devices from your account that you no longer use or own. This extends beyond phones to include Chromecast devices, Wearable OS devices, and PCs where you might be signed into Chrome.